Principal Software Engineer

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will lead and mentor a team of engineers, working closely with cross-functional teams to ensure the development of high-performing, scalable, and fault-tolerant systems. You will oversee the design and architecture of software solutions, guide technical strategies, and continuously add value to the products you work on. You will be responsible for ensuring these solutions meet business objectives while adhering to best practices.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leadership & Mentorship:
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to a team of software engineers, fostering an environment of best practices, innovation, and problem-solving.
• Guide and support team members in designing and developing complex software architectures using Java and microservices.
• Set architectural goals, assign tasks, and ensure projects are executed efficiently, on time, and within budget.
• System Architecture & Design:
• Design highly scalable, fault-tolerant, and performant systems both on-prem and in the cloud.
• Identify and mitigate risks associated with solution architecture and technical designs.
• Drive the creation and review of technical specifications and conduct architectural reviews to ensure alignment with design principles and best practices.
• Innovation & Continuous Improvement:
• Drive innovation by identifying new architectural patterns and methodologies to improve software systems.
• Conduct experiments, simulations, and analyses to develop and implement new architectural solutions.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in Java, microservices, and software architecture.
• Collaboration:
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product management, development, corporate security, and operations, to align architectural efforts with business objectives.
• Coordinate with external partners and stakeholders to leverage additional expertise and resources.
• Service Maintenance & Risk Management:
• Support services before they go live by engaging in system design consulting, capacity planning, and launch reviews.
• Maintain services once live by measuring and monitoring availability, latency, and overall system health.
• Practice sustainable incident response and conduct blameless post-mortems to learn from operational incidents.
• Project Management:
• Oversee the planning, execution, and completion of software architecture projects, ensuring alignment with business and technical requirements.
• Manage multiple high-priority demands simultaneously while ensuring consistent results.
• Testing & Validation:
• Test and validate architectural designs to ensure they meet required standards and specifications.
• Analyse data and write technical reports, presenting findings and recommendations to stakeholders.

Required Qualifications:

• Education & Experience:
• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent work experience) in Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• Several years of experience in software architecture and lead engineering positions.
• Proven track record of designing and developing large-scale, enterprise-grade software solutions.
• Technical Expertise:
• Expert knowledge of software development principles, design patterns, and best practices.
• Advanced expertise in Java, Spring Framework, Persistence technologies, and Testing frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of Cloud platforms (PCF, AWS, Azure) and container orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience with messaging technologies (e.g., Apache Kafka) and high-volume batch processing technologies (e.g., Apache Spark) is a plus.
• Deep understanding of API standards and experience in driving API/service adoption and commercialization.
• Leadership & Soft Skills:
• Strong leadership and management skills, with the ability to guide a team to success.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, capable of developing creative solutions for complex challenges.
• Effective communication and teamwork abilities, with experience working in a geographically distributed team.
• Proven ability to manage multiple high-priority demands while delivering consistent results.